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How To Get There
The Boise Front segment is just east of the city of Boise in southwest Idaho’s Ada County. In fact, much of the southeast foothills area, visible from town, is part of the WMA. To reach Boise River WMA headquarters from Interstate 84, take exit 57 and travel 15 miles northeast on State Highway 21, past Lucky Peak Lake. Just after cresting the Highland Valley Summit, look for the Boise River WMA headquarters sign at mile marker 15.
General Information
Today the future of southwest Idaho’s major mule deer herd rests a bit more secure than it might otherwise because in the early 1940’s far-sighted managers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) began planning to conserve winter range in the Boise River drainage. In 1943 the Department used federal Pittman-Robertson funds to purchase more than 2,200 acres of prime mule deer winter range in the Spring Shores area of the Boise Mountains. As additional winter range became available, it too was purchased. Department owned land in the Boise River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) now amounts to nearly 19,000 acres in three counties.
The Department also works cooperatively with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and private landowners to increase the area where mule deer management is the priority. The total area managed as the Boise River WMA is nearly 35,000 acres. In a united effort, these varied entities strive to provide critical mule deer and elk winter range, improve watershed conditions and provide habitat for all wildlife species.
The Boise River WMA is made up of four distinct parcels. The Boise Front Segment begins near the Boise City limits and extends about ten miles east. The Spring Shores segment is along Lucky Peak Lake about15 miles east of Boise. The Charcoal Creek segment is located south of Lucky Peak Lake and the South Fork/McDonald segment consists of scattered parcels on Grape Mountain and along the South Fork Arm of Arrowrock Reservoir.
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